A rosary may generally comprise a flexible elongate member, such as a string, carrying a plurality of beads. The flexible elongate member may be arranged in a loop, and the plurality of beads may be used to keep track of the number or repetitious prayers recited by the user. The prayers to be recited by the user may change daily and throughout different times of the year, e.g., Advent or Easter, and may vary from bead to bead.
Accordingly, a prayer associated with a rosary may be difficult to learn and/or recite. Some devices have been introduced to assist a user in learning and reciting prayers associated with a rosary. U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,519 to Wexler, for example, discloses a handheld apparatus for prompting and teaching a prayer associated with a rosary to a user. The handheld device includes a plurality of LEDs carried by a housing, and generates a user operable voice message corresponding to a portion of the prayer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,246 to De Wolf et al. discloses a handheld rosary device that visually indicates prayer steps. More specifically, the handheld rosary includes a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) configured in a matrix and carried by a housing. The LEDs may be configured to have characteristics indicative of various prayers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,584 to DeWolf et al. discloses a similar rosary device that is carried by a wristwatch.
Once a user learns the prayer of the rosary, it may be difficult to keep track of the number of prayers that have been recited. U.S. Published Application No. 2003/0086521 to Rana discloses an electronic rosary including a plurality of beads and an alphanumeric display for counting various prayer recitations. More specifically, the alphanumeric display is responsive to a bead sensor that senses the passing of a bead past a predetermined location to advance the displayed number.